cakes

Last week, one of my co-workers brought in a box of gingersnaps. Of course, I grabbed a couple throughout the day. As you know, I enjoy fall and all the flavors that come with it. However, as I bit down into the rock hard cookie, I nearly broke a tooth. In considering what to feature next on our top ten lists, I thought of some ways that would highlight the tasty flavors of gingersnaps without the risk of breaking your teeth. Therefore, we found the top ten gingersnap recipes! Links will bring you straight to the recipes. Let us know what your favorites are!

I’ve been experimenting with gluten-free baking for a few months now and have had quite a few failures. I would say maybe one in every ten gluten-free experiments actually turns out to be worth making again. This is one of those experiments, which was enjoyed immensely by both gluten eaters and gluten avoiders.

Red Currant Thyme Cake

Plate It: Creamed Honey

We love honey. We hate how it sticks all over everything. Creamed honey is pure honey that is crystallized so that it changes texture; you get a smooth, creamy product that spreads like butter and doesn’t drip-drip-drip all over everything like that pedestrian un-creamed honey. Brilliant. (Available at http://www.shopbot.co.nz/)

Hate It: Push Pop Cakes

The latest mom blogger craze picks up where cake pops left off. Come on, foodie moms — please stop sacrificing practicality for cuteness. That is not how you eat a cake. Push it up and things start to fall apart once you take your first bite. (Photo: kristin_a)

Plate It: Travel-Size Brie

Finally. We no longer have to fly with just Laughing Cow. Quality doesn’t compare to regular brie, but it’s sure better than no brie. (Available from Ile de France)

Hate It: Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off

When I think of chocolate pairings I usually go with strawberries, orange, mint and perhaps bourbon. Tomato, I think not.

A colleague recently told me how she substitutes water with canned tomato as the wet ingredient for her chocolate cake mix. Yes, you read that right. Tomato in a chocolate cake. As I’m not the baker in my household, it was nice to know that this little experiment would consist only of a box of chocolate cake mix and a can of diced tomatoes.

Following the instructions on the back of the box, an Organic Chocolate Cake Mix from Arrowhead Mills, I added just short of a whole can of Whole Foods 365 brand of no salt added,plain diced tomatoes, pureed.

While we here at ES put most of our Halloween energy into thinking up weird food costumes, we’ve noticed in the past couple of years that our friends around the blogosphere and flickr-verse have been getting crazy creative with the cakes for this particular holiday season. Since you know we can’t bake to save our lives, let’s take a look at a few of the freakiest, loveliest cakes we’ve spied around the web.

In going through these family recipes, we have found several that have made us dig deep into our collective subconscious for their origin. The Harvey Wallbanger cake, however, is clearly attributed to a family friend. Now, I am all for mixing booze with baking. One of the ES recipes that has made it into my family’s regular rotation are the mint julep cupcakes from C. Christy Concrete. We’re not big on sweets, but we are big on booze so the combination is magically delicious for us (even though yes, I know, the alcohol itself bakes off). I was confused, as usual, by this recipe and how the booze was going to fit in.

The MVI* in a Harvey Wallbanger drink and cake is Galliano. Galliano is an amaretto-like liqueur. It’s pretty good but unless you find you have an affinity for Harvey Wallbangers, which I do not, you are going to have some Galliano hanging around your wet bar for a while. The bottle is quite pretty though and lets people know you’re serious about your cocktails, if that’s the message you want to send.